Electronic packages commonly employ various surface mount electronic devices connected to electrical circuitry on a substrate, such as a printed circuit board. The printed circuit board generally includes a dielectric substrate in single or multiple layers and electrical circuitry typically in the form of conductive circuit traces. The circuitry also typically includes electrical conductive contact pads for making electrical connections to electrical components, such as surface mount devices. Various types of electrical connectors exist for forming the electrical connection between the surface mount components and the electrical circuitry on the substrate.
Thru-hole electrical connectors have been employed for use in automotive electronic controllers and other applications. The conventional thru-hole connector is generally reliable and robust, however, a number of disadvantages exist. With surface mount technology, many electronic packages require a solder reflow process to manufacture the circuit assembly. When using a thru-hole connector, an additional manufacturing process is typically required to mount the electrical connector to the circuit board, such as a wave or selective wave solder or pin-in-paste process. Additionally, the thru-hole connector typically consumes all layers of the circuit board and, thus, the connector footprint area generally cannot be used for other purposes.
Another conventional surface mount connector technology employs the use of gull wing-type surface mount connectors which are soldered to the surface of the circuit board. These types of connectors have been employed in the automotive environment. However, gull wing-type surface mount connectors have low shear force ratings and may experience reliability problems due to cracked solder joint interconnections between the connector leads and the printed circuit board. Additionally, the ceramic-based packages generally use a wire bonded connector header. The wire bonding process can be cumbersome and also typically adds a manufacturing process step.
It is therefore desirable to provide for a reliable electrical connection that enables electrical interconnection between the circuit board and another electrical device in a manner that is easy to manufacture. It is further desirable to provide for such an electrical connector that consumes a small amount of the substrate and does not require application of a solder connection process.